On This Date in Sports November 28, 1942: War Games
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
Navy defeats Army 14-0 in the first matchup of the service academies after the start of World War II. Instead of playing in front of 102,000 fans in Philadelphia as they did in 1941, the game had a mere 11,000 fans in Annapolis. Due to wartime travel restrictions, only those who lived ten miles from the stadium could attend, as the Cadets of West Point remained home. It is the first time in 50 years that the game was played on campus, as most games in the series were played in Philadelphia, which is located midway between Annapolis and West Point.
On November 29, 1941, Navy edged Army 13-6 in front of 102,000 fans at Philadelphia's Municipal Stadium. It was the traditional home of the Army-Navy Game, which was one of the highlights of the College Football season. Eight days later, the world changed as Pearl Harbor was bombed, sending the United States into World War II. There were debates over whether the game should be played during wartime. However, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, at the urging of Navy Commander Bill Mott, decided the game would still be played. However, with gas rationing, the games would be played at Annapolis in 1942 and West Point in 1943. The President felt the game was good for the morale of the nation.
Tickets at Thompson Stadium were limited as only those who lived within ten miles of the stadium were permitted to attend the game due to continued travel restrictions. This kept the cadets from West Point from attending the Army-Navy Game as the usual pageantry was muted. Third and fourth-year students at the Naval Academy were ordered to sit behind the Army sidelines and root for the advisories.
The game was a defensive struggle, with Navy scoring two touchdowns and shutting out Army. The Midshipmen finished the season at 5-4 for first-year coach John Whelchel. Army had entered the game with a record of 6-2 for Earl Black and was favored to win, but their offense failed to cross into Navy territory, as the Midshipmen defense locked down Army's power run game.
The 1943 Army-Navy Game was held in West Point, but the result was the same: Navy won a battle of top-ten teams 13-0. As travel restrictions eased, the game was held in Baltimore in 1944, with Army winning a National Championship with a 23-7 victory over Navy. With the war completed in 1945, the game returned to Philadelphia. The site of the Army-Navy Game is still usually in Philadelphia, though it is moved to a special location on occasion, such as in 1983 when it was held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. In 2020, due to the COVID pandemic, the game was again held in West Point.